Tamlin's Whore
by starwarsfreak95
Summary: Post ACOMAF. Feyre gets a three day reprieve before Tamlin resumes her nightly visits to her room. She can't do this, she just wants Rhys back, and to go home to her Court. How can the Fae who was once Amarantha's whore prove to her that his love for her is more than what she must become to save her people? Rated T for (obviously) mature themes.
1. Chapter 1

Feyre

I got three days of reprieve when Tamilin dragged me back to my prison cell of a room. I spent much of the time reminding myself that I could get free any time I wanted, that all I'd need to do would be to winnow out and I could be free. I told myself that I was here for my people, the people of Velaris, who needed me. Who needed the protection I could offer. And I was here for Rhys, who would never have permitted this if there was any other way.

But the first night that Tamlin came for me, I put down shields of adamant without even a crack for Rhys to slither through. I knew I had to do what Tamlin expected of me. I could not resist, even the tiniest bit. I had to participate, pretend like I was happy here in his arms.

He was gone when I awoke in the morning.

I curled into myself, feeling nothing except for the shame of what I had done. I hadn't resisted. I had allowed a male not my mate to hold me, touch me, ravish me. I felt so dirty. I finally felt what I'd never truly felt when I was worrying about moving on from Tamlin too fast. I felt like a whore. A traitor. A two faced traitor.

 _Whore. Whore. Traitor. Two faced traitor. Whore. Stupid whore. Good for nothing but pleasuring men. You don't deserve a loving mate._

My mind was numb until something made totally of love gently feathered against my mental shields. I felt the question in it. To answer, I reopened the tiny crack in my shields that I always left for him and him alone, bracing myself for wrath.

But all I got was sympathy.

In my guilt and shame, I'd forgotten that he _knew_. Rhys had laid next to his enemy and given her pleasure in order that he might destroy her. He became Amarantha's whore. Just as what I'd done had made me Tamlin's, but only to destroy him.

I could feel the suppressed anger, I could feel how much it physically hurt him to know what I had to do last night, and would have to do again for many nights in the future. But he was putting it away, because he _knows_.

He knows what it feels like to wake up in the morning knowing that every fiber of you has done something so _wrong_ that the very air seems to shake with it. What it feels like to know that you have to do it again and again for a long time after.

All I could feel along the bond was raw love, sympathy, and understanding. My tears fell silently down my face, writing my shame for the world to see. I felt a ghostly hand trailing gently down my cheek.

 _Oh Feyre, Feyre love._ It was Rhys. _I could never stop loving you. I don't.. I don't like this. Any more than you do. But I understand. And I'm so so sorry that this is happening. You can come home anytime, darling. Do not do this at risk to yourself. Do not let yourself go back to that depressed existence._

I sniffed, and wiped my tears on the sheets.

 _I didn't have you then. And now I do. I'll always have you if I have anything to say about it. I love you Rhys._

 _As I love you, Feyre darling. Come with me for a moment?_

He brought me into the antechamber of his mind which was transformed into the cabin. He gently allowed me to see myself from his perspective. The guilt he felt as he told me every moment of his story, especially that time with Amarantha. How completely amazed and floored he was when I handed him that simple bowl of soup. How beautiful I was to him. How much he loves me and for how long.

I sat up.

I could face today.

 _Thank you Rhys._

Rhys

Three days after Feyre got back to the Spring court, she blocked me completely out of her mind for the first time. Her doing so actually woke me out of a restless sleep. Knowing why she'd block me, knowing what he was doing to her, chased sleep from my aching head and aching heart. I went to go sit with Cassian and Azriel as they healed, to find Mor and Amren there as well. Amren silently got up when I walked in.

"Can't sleep?" Mor asked in a voice hoarse from tears and lack of sleep. I simply shook my head. She tilted her head in a way that asked for more. I took a deep breath.

"Feyre blocked me out," was all I said. Mor's eyes were understanding. I hated myself. I knew what I could be sending her into. And I'd let her go, knowing she would be hurt in so many ways and that I couldn't rescue her. I knew that she wanted to help, that she loved our people. But I knew what it was like to do terrible, terrible things for those you love.

"She's strong," Mor said, almost as though she was trying to convince herself, "She'll get through it." I know that she was remembering the same thing I was.

When I finally came home from my forty-nine years Under the Mountain, broken by Amarantha. Amarantha's whore. That would follow me for the rest of my immortal life, and I can only bear it because I could see Velaris there now, having never been touched by that creature or her followers. Three months of endless pain, learning to live with it while trying not to think of what my mate would think of me for what I'd done. Not to mention every moment of those forty-nine years of pain where I just had to sit and watch her destroy innocents. And help her.

I could not spare my Feyre the pain of what she has to do, but I can spare her the pain of worrying about what I would think of her. Especially since she accidentally did the same thing for me from the beginning, never judging what I once did, only my current actions.

Mor sat with me all night in vigil, waiting for the guys to wake up. Waiting for Feyre to wake up. Never mentioning the tears on each other's faces, but always keeping hands clasped. Suddenly, I felt more awareness down the bond, things that neither of us could shield from the other. I stood up suddenly. Mor nodded and let go of my hand so that I could walk back to my room to be in private.

Suddenly, even with her shields up, I could hear Feyre's thoughts, as though part of her knew she needed me even though she didn't think she could ask.

 _Whore. Whore. Traitor. Two faced traitor._

It just got worse from there. Tears filled my eyes as I felt my own self-hatred mirrored in her heart and soul. It broke something inside me. I sent the love I felt for her down our bond, gently stroking her shields, asking her to let me in. I felt the sob in my soul as she let me back into her mind, and I mirrored it as I felt the complete self-loathing that consumed her.

I could kill him for what he's done to her. Three days and this is how quickly he destroyed her self worth. I will not let her be destroyed again.

All she could do was cry, and all I could do was love her, and show her I understand, that I'm not angry at _her_. I simply allowed her to feel how much I loved her and adored her. How much she meant to me and the knowledge that I'd never stopped loving her. How could I ever, when she came to Amarantha's whore knowingly, and loved him completely? She gave me then what she needed now: unconditional love. I concentrated and gave her a mental feeling of me wiping away her tears and spoke to her.

 _Oh Feyre, Feyre love. I could never stop loving you. I don't.. I don't like this. Any more than you do. But I understand. And I'm so so sorry that this is happening. You can come home anytime, darling. Do not do this at risk to yourself. Do not let yourself go back to that depressed existence._

I heard her quietly begin to calm down at the sound of my mental voice.

 _I didn't have you then. And now I do. I'll always have you if I have anything to say about it. I love you Rhys._ I hated leaving her there, but I was glad my presence was comforting now rather than a burden. I knew in that moment what she needed most to see.

 _As I love you, Feyre darling. Come with me for a moment?_ I opened up a place in my memories for her.

I knew that reliving the beginning of this would be difficult, and it was. Every time I thought about the time Under the Mountain it was painful. Amarantha would haunt me forever. But the bright spot of memory and dreams that was Feyre would keep me sane, whether she knows it or not.

And just only a very few days ago, when she truly understood and accepted our bond. The sheer and overwhelming _joy_ I felt in that moment would live in me forever, no matter what happened. She chose me. She knew me and she chose me anyway. She saw my mistakes, she saw the darkest parts of me. She shone the light in those dark corners and help me clear away the dust and put away the boxes I'd shoved there.

I felt her stop crying.

I felt her resolve come back.

I felt her sit up.

I felt her _choose_.

 _Thank you Rhys._ That's all she said. That's all she needed to say.

 _Anytime for you, Feyre darling._ That's all I said. That's all I needed to say.

Our love spoke to us better than words did anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- I had originally intended for this to be a one-shot since I have another story in mind for this fandom. However, everyone keeps following this story and seems enamored in it. I kept thinking and thinking.. And I came up with a part 2. So I decided to do a short follow up where Feyre gets to break free of Tamlin forever. If I write my next story, the events that I set up here in this ficlet will end up being the foundation for it. Happy reading!  
Love,**

 **SWF95**

 **A/N 2- So I rewrote this and drew the plot out a bit. The missing bit is a new chapter that comes after this! It looks like this is gonna have like 5 or 6 chapters or so. Maybe just 4. I have no idea. This turned into a major undertaking!**

Feyre

Today was the day.

I was so ready to rid myself of Tamlin. Every touch made my skin crawl. When he crawled in my bed with me at night, I had to shut myself down completely just to be able to function and do what he required of me. I always locked my mind away, to spare my mate the details of another male being permitted to do these things to me.

Rhysand. Rhys. He had kept me sane these past few months. I would never have been able to make it through without him, he kept me strong. Every morning we would strengthen each other for the day through our bond. Every day we spoke words of encouragement to each other.

But I longed to have him near me. I longed to allow him to touch me, to rid me of the horrible months of having to take another male when all I wanted was my mate. To remind me that he, too, had done every single thing in his power out of love for his people. Our people.

I was the High Lady of the Night Court.

And today my revenge would be complete.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Tamlin was no better than he had been previously. I had to sneak around if I wanted information about his movements, about the war. Yet, that made it easier in a way. I never regretted any of the sneaking, the times I broke into his study, any of it. Every day, before Tamlin came to my room, I wrote down everything I'd learned and sent it to Rhys.

If it hadn't been so frightening, Tamlin's rage would have almost been funny. He interrogated the servants, the warriors, even Lucien. No one was exempt from his wrath.

Except me.

Except his pretty, pretty, Fae princess. His quiet, complacent, frightened little Lady.

He never suspected that the information leak he tried so desperately to find and destroy was sharing his bed at night.

I had spent months left to my own devices, alone, using little drabbles of my power as often as possible to help keep me from going completely mad. If I hadn't been able to talk to Rhys, I would have lost myself in the horrid depression that had claimed me the last time I had lived in that house.

Rhys was clearly worried about me, no matter how much he tried to hide it. I was losing bits of myself each day.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Within two months, Tamlin began to leave me alone at night again. The first time he did, I tossed and turned, managing to wake Rhysand with the loneliness I couldn't contain any longer.

 _Feyre, darling, are you alright?_

 _I can't stop thinking Rhys, I can't stop being afraid._ I didn't need to say more, Rhys could read my fears through our bond.

 _You know you can come home to me any time this becomes too much._ I breathed easier at the almost hopeful tone to his voice. It would be many years before I could feel cleansed of what I've done here, before I could feel worth my mate's perfect love again.

 _I know. But I also know I'm more useful to our people here_. I could feel his disagreement through our bond.

 _Not much longer,_ he simply reveled in our bond for a few moments. Suddenly, he spoke again. _Can you go outside?_ I caught on to his idea as he said it. I smiled genuinely for the first time in months.

Soon, I was quietly making my way outside with a pillow and a blanket. To where I could see the stars. My heart filled with joy as I saw the night sky again. I felt a joy mirroring my own on the other side of the bond. Rhys had gone outside too. Curiously, I slipped into his mind as I looked up at the night sky, to see if his sky was the same as mine.

His mind welcomed mine with love and joy, showing me a night sky similar to mine.

And yet, it was so much more beautiful. The blues and purples deeper, the stars brighter, the galaxies and nebulae more vivid and visible.

It was home.

 _Beautiful, isn't it?_ He said with a smile I could feel. He felt my silent agreement.

 _Home_ , I repeated.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Three months ago, Lucian had finally cornered me. Tamlin had left him there to care for me while he was gone, and, as usual, I had cuddled up with my blanket out under the stars. Lucian had followed me there.

"What are you after, Feyre, I know something's not right with you."

"Who says I'm after anything?" I replied, curious.

"I'm not stupid, Feyre," he leveled a look at me, "And I know what a mate bond feels like. I know that there's no way you'd be this… functional, if it was broken, even after this time." Rhys was mirroring my rising alarm. I simply allowed my eyebrows to creep further up my forehead.

To my surprise, Lucian actually chuckled. "Cauldron, you look like Rhysand when you do that, you two are a matched set."

I froze. Rhys was silent for a moment before I felt him doubled over, laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. _Tell him,_ Rhys suggested.

 _You think we can trust him?_ I asked.

 _I think he is a decent guy with a not so decent friend and High Lord. I think he trusted Tamlin too far, and I think his blind loyalty is a major fault. And I think he's a guy I can sympathize with, since he probably misses Elain so badly it physically hurts him. I don't think that even being removed from the Autumn Court was worth the things he had to do to you, his friend, and to his people._ I looked at Lucian again, the grin had faded slightly. I gave him my best impression of the cold Dark High Lord Rhys for a moment before grinning back.

"You almost broke Rhys," I replied finally, "I mean, I'm sure laughter is a great way to go, but I kind of need him around." Lucian's eyes widened imperceptibly.

"I knew there was no way he could break that bond."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked him.

"For Elain," he said, predictably. I was silent, inviting him to continue. "For Elain, and for the rest of the people here. We just got out from under Amarantha, another tyrant would destroy us. What happened Under the Mountain brought out the worst in Tam. He didn't used to be quite that bad, but guilt has turned him into a monster."

"Guilt?" I replied dubiously, feeling Rhys backing up my thought.

"Guilt," Lucian said firmly, "He _did_ think that he did what was best for you Under the Mountain, fearing that if she knew what would hurt him most she would do it repetitively. But he didn't do enough, he didn't do everything, and he knows it. And worse, he knows that Rhysand did do everything, and he knows that you know that. That's why he wanted you to marry him so quickly, that's why he tried so hard to keep you out of the Night Court, and that's why he tried to keep you out of Rhysand's hands.

"None of us, however," he added ruefully, "accounted for the thought that you two could be mates. He managed to convince the rest of us that Rhys had you under a spell. Until the day I saw you in those Illyrian forests. I saw you, and I saw you stand next to him, powerful and without fear. In that moment, I realized that you were there because you wanted to be, because you belonged with him in whatever capacity. But Tamlin wouldn't listen. He told me Rhys had fooled me too, and that we needed to get you back."

I was silent. Stunned. I could feel Rhys's emotions, so similar to mine in this moment. I asked him a question and he agreed as I asked it.

I looked Lucien in the eye.

And dropped the glamour on my right hand. A small smile curled around the edges of his lips at the blue tattoo that adorned it.

"I am the High Lady of the Night Court," I told him quietly.

"High _Lady_?" Lucian said quietly, shocked.

"Yes," I told him, "The night before what happened in Hybern, Rhys had me sworn in as his equal, his lady. If you go to the Night Court, Rhys or one of the members of our Court will find you and bring you to a place where you might be able to help us fix all of this."

"Is Elain there?" he asked quietly, desperately.

"Yes," I replied, just as quietly, "My sisters have been acclimating to their Fae bodies. They've been taken care of. And don't worry too much about Nesta. Just be kind to Elain, and respect her. Nesta will eventually calm down a bit."

He simply nodded. I didn't have to tell him that his best hope for reconciliation with my sister lay with refusing to side with the creature who had destroyed me with an almost aggressive inattention to my needs, the creature who had turned her into something she was never meant to be. Without a word, he winnowed away.

Next I heard, he showed up on the battlefield standing next to Cassian, wearing Illyrian fighting leathers and knives.

Tamlin had wrecked the entire manor that night. Even as I hid from his wrath, I smiled.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Over the next two months after Lucian left, Rhys kept asking me to come home, but I replied the same way each time: I was the most useful here. I was only useful here. In the end, he did as he always had and respected my decision. A heady thing in the elaborate prison Tamlin had reconstructed.

I had no idea what I was going to be at the end of this mess. I could feel a darkness in my soul unrelated to my powers that was only kept at bay by my purpose. The hole in my heart was carving itself back out. Without my purpose to protect my people, I had no idea what I would become. I knew Rhys could feel it too, and that was why he kept asking me to come home. He was frightened for me.

Part of me still wondered if Rhys would still want me after this. After all, it's one thing to do as Rhys did: allowing himself to become Amarantha's whore to save the friends and people who he loved with his entire self. Yet he did not leave a mate for it. He did not willingly leave his mate to go warm the bed of some other male in order to spy on him. I did. I left my Rhys to become Tamlin's whore. Trading my body and self respect for his secrets. For the good of my people. For my sisters. For Velaris. For the Rainbow.

Yet again, I thought of my _real_ family. Of Mor and Az and Cassian and Amren. Of my sisters waiting in Velaris for me. Of Lucian who made the right choice at last.

I thought of the Rainbow, a place where light and life and art prospered and was protected. I thought of Starfall, and the joy on Rhysand's face when I painted that star on his hand. I thought of the lengths my High Lord went to protect his people.

And, like my High Lord before me, I decided that I didn't care what I became at the end, so long as the people I loved were spared.

Today it would all end.

The King of Hybern was destroyed. The war was over. And The Night Court was coming to sack the Spring manor.


	3. Chapter 3

********IMPORTANT********

 **If you got this because you opened it from a notification email that there was a new chapter, go reread chapter 2!  
I reworked this story and adjusted the previous chapter, slowing the plot down a little.**

When the wards were breached, Tamlin forced me to hide. It felt horrible when I could feel how close my mate was and knew that he could be in danger. Luckily, thanks to my spying, Rhys knew the weaknesses of the Spring court and of Tamlin's defenses.

I could hear the battle raging, with Tamlin's roaring telling me how badly it was going for them.

Through Rhys's eyes, I saw the battle, I saw how the Spring Court Sentinels quailed before the Illyrians, before Rhysand. My heart swelled in my chest. Then, Through Rhys's eyes, I saw him finally see Tamlin, and begin to battle his way toward the other male.

 _Feyre, I'm coming_.

Finally, Rhys found me. He ran into the stupid study I'd been locked in, Tamlin on his heels.

"YOU WILL NEVER HAVE HER," roared Tamlin, more than half beast by this point.

"Surrender, Tamlin," Rhys insisted, "There's no way out." Tamlin's eyes went flat. In a move which shocked all of us, including me, he whirled, grabbed me by the throat and held me against the wall.

"Come closer," Tamlin snarled, "I dare you. I'll kill her rather than let you have her." For the first time, Rhys looked horrified. For the first time during the battle, I let out an inhuman snarl right at Tamlin. He simply pressed my neck closer to the wall. There was nothing of him left.

I could feel my High Lord's anger. I felt the creature in his soul begin to dominate, his wings and claws beginning to appear. His normal, bored expression had been replaced with one of fierce animal rage.

 _RHYS!_ I screamed to him down our bond. If he lets go, Tamlin will likely kill me before I can even the odds.

I shoved down the memories of Amarantha snapping my neck that were threatening to overwhelm me coming down the bond. And then I winnowed out of his grip, right into Rhys's arms.

If the situation had been funnier, I would have laughed at the dumbfounded look on Tamlin's face. As it was, I dropped the glamour on my tattooed hand and transformed my clothing into Night Court attire. And used the drop of magic he himself gave me to shapeshift enough to give me Illyrian wings and claws, as I had done in the forest for Lucien.

"You!" he shouted at Rhys, "What did you do to her!"

"You IDIOT," I exploded before Rhys could answer, "you truly thought that the King of Hybern could break a _mating_ bond? I've been his spy for months. I haven't loved you since the moment you locked me in this house. I tried to tell you, over and over again but you dismissed me as nothing but a silly female acting like a child. I. Will. Never. Be. Your Pet." For a moment, I thought I saw a flash of hurt, but it turned into nothing but an unending rage.

"You two deserve each other," Tamlin spat, "if you would so easily leave your mate for another male. But I shouldn't have expected much more of Amarantha's whore. If you'll sell your own body to that snake it speaks to reason that you would sell your mate's for information."

A white hot rage filled my entire body at his words. I could _feel_ what Tamlin had done to Rhys: utterly destroyed him. Rhys had not changed expressions, but for the first time, I could understand how he had felt before he taught me how to shield. It was like he was standing at one end of our bond _shouting_ to me how hurt and broken he felt. His pain was such that it almost overwhelmed my fury in his despair, despair that I'd not felt since I had been locked in this accursed house.

It was only with great self control that I did not literally explode into flames. NO ONE spoke to my mate that way. NO ONE was permitted to hurt him like that.

"I made that choice," I hissed, "He allowed me to make it because that is my _right_. He has _never_ prevented me from making the choices that I felt were right and necessary. And don't you _ever_ call him that again." I could feel myself losing control over the darkness and small tendrils of it caressed my ankles. I could also feel the flame inside my clenched fists.

Tamlin grinned insolently.

"So what if I do call him that again? What are _you_ going to do about it?"

"You dare?" the darkness within me began to fill the room at his condescending tone, "You DARE to offer such insult to the High Lady of the Night Court?"

"There's no such thing as a High Lady," he replied dismissively, "I told you that."

"And you're wrong," Rhys broke in, the haunted look in his eyes temporarily vanishing, replaced by determination, "She has equal power in my Court. My mate will stand beside me, not behind me. And I'd advise you not to piss her off," he added, sounding amused.

I stalked towards Tamlin, suddenly tired of his games. He seemed nothing more than amused as I did so. The reason for that appeared between me and him all of a sudden when I was about to pounce.

Ianthe.

A red film obscured my vision. My poor sisters were Fae now thanks to her, a fate they never wanted. She had betrayed everyone and everything for power. And she had encouraged my imprisonment. The thing that sent me over the edge, however, was the spark of fury I got from Rhys from simply seeing her face.

I had no interest in going around her. I was going through her to destroy him, and had plans to destroy her in the process.

The moment I leapt on her, Rhys leaped on Tamlin with a snarl. We stood back to back, battling our opponents. I discovered that I could very likely have killed Ianthe immediately.

I didn't.

She needed to be humiliated. I couldn't allow her to die with any pride whatsoever. I would strip her of her very self, just as she did to me.

So the first thing I did, was drench and freeze her hair.

Rhys was startled into a short laugh when he saw what I was doing to that creature. I heated up the bottom of her feet until she bounced from foot to foot in pain. I blew objects in the room around and into her.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before she showed her hand.

Her fighting skills were almost on par with the Illyrian techniques that I'd been taught. If I'd been instructed by anyone other than an Illyrian, I would have been dead instantly. As it was, she managed to scratch me a couple of times, as well as bruise me.

I promised myself that if I got out of this, I was going to buy Cas a drink in thanks. Without him I'd have been dead.

I began to work through the shields in her mind. It was harder than I expected: I had no power from the priestesses that I could use to convince the shield I was native to her mind. I had to let my guard down too many times, allowing her to injure me. She grinned malevolently every time she got a hit in on me, enjoying the fact that my pain was distracting Rhys from fighting Tamlin properly.

 _Stay focused!_ I told him, _I'm fine._ I simply felt approval through the bond, and he focused on Tamlin once again.

Suddenly I remembered a power that Rhys had mentioned once: Misting. I narrowed my eyes and stopped for a moment. She was so taken aback that she paused too. I used the distraction to worm my way past the last of her shields and grabbed her mind roughly in the claws I still remembered from when Rhys managed to scare Tamlin and Lucian into sending me back to my family, so long ago.

I could feel her fear, but I also knew everything she'd worked for. Everything she'd been trying to do. Everyone she manipulated. And, worst of all, what she'd wanted to do to Rhys.

To my horror, she'd asked the King to spare him specifically. For her pleasure.

When I found that little tidbit, my fury overwhelmed me for a moment, and I burst into flames. I heard Tamlin yell, but all of my focus was on the creature in my mental claws. She smiled evilly as she realized what I'd found, but cried out when my claws tightened on her mind.

"You. Failed." I told her.

Then I turned her into mist.

At her death, Tamlin screamed and leaped toward what was left of her. With the coldness that had settled on my soul, I broke my way past his shields using a scrap of his own power and held his mind roughly, finishing what my mate had started. I stared into Tamlin's eyes.

"You will leave this land," I told him, "You will leave this land and never return. You will pass your powers on to an heir and allow the Spring Court a chance to grow and thrive, to become what it was meant to be."

"No," he ground out.

"You will," I told him, "You will because you will have no other choice." With that, I implanted a compulsion to follow my orders deep within his mind. He knew it didn't originate with him, but he couldn't stop it any more than he could stop breathing. He would follow my orders until the day he died.

A young Fae I had never met appeared in the room.

"What-" Mechanically, Tamlin placed his hand on the Fae's forehead.

"All hail the High Lord of the Spring Court," he ground out, then he winnowed away, never to be seen again.


	4. Chapter 4

Finally, once all was complete, I felt gentle hand on my shoulder. I slumped into it for a split second before turning to Rhys, allowing myself to be held in the arms of someone who truly loved me.

I felt the relief he felt in seeing me alive and mostly unharmed. For just a moment, the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court were able to just be Rhys and Feyre, mates being reunited after a long time apart.

Suddenly, there was a coughing noise.

"Um, excuse me," the young Fae in the doorway said, "But can someone please tell me what's going on?"

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

The Fae's name was Terren, and he was a cousin of Tamlin's. He had taken refuge in the Summer court many years ago. Terren knew about his cousin's treachery, but he did not know that the betrayal had been due to him attempting to steal another Lord's mate.

Needless to say, he was not pleased.

We spoke with him, telling him essentially that we wanted to be allies. Though at first reluctant, he was a bit calmer and more reasonable when I took over the negotiations. Rhys kept in mental contact with me, giving me tips and ideas when I began to falter. At the end, we came to an agreement with spring. The short version: we would back up Spring's new High Lord to the rest of the Lords, and in return we would not cause havoc in his domain. An easy request, really. Hopefully a way to open the door back up to other courts.

After my successful negotiations, we decided that he was safe to leave there to rebuild the court.

Finally, I and my Court winnowed home.

We were all there, standing in the House of the Wind, finally reunited at last.

Az was, as Rhys promised, fully healed. I was surprised to see him holding hands with Mor, but not terribly so. I hugged Mor, surprising Az with a hug as well.

I nodded at Lucian, acknowledging him. We would speak later. I smiled at Elain, standing closer to Lucian than I would have thought. She did not seem to have completely accepted her bond, but Lucian's face told me that she wasn't completely rejecting him either.

To my slight shock, Nesta was there, holding hands with Cassian. A half smile was on her face as she flicked her eyes to her mate every so often. When she met my eyes, she managed to blush, yet look highly defensive at the same time. She and I would chat soon.

I met Amren's eyes seriously, and she smiled broadly. More emotion than was usually seen from cold, stoic Amren.

After a moment, my court all dropped to one knee with the exception of Lucian and my sisters.

"Hail the High Lady of the Night Court," they intoned. I smiled. I was home.

"I missed you guys too," I said, still grinning. Rhys had me tucked in under his arm as though he was afraid to let me go.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Soon after, we were all seated on couches around a large room in the House of the Wind, sharing from several bottles of wine. Elain was recounting for me her and Nesta's struggles with learning to adjust to their Fae bodies.

"Don't feel bad," Rhys said to Elain, "Like I told you, Feyre literally shattered the same glass door four different times." Suddenly I turned scarlet.

"You _saw_ that?" I said.

"Oh yeah," Rhys said, "I saw every second of that. I think the best times were when you broke silverware when you were annoyed." I huffed slightly, but wasn't too upset about him in my mind, even then.

"Well let's just transplant you into a human body and see what you can come up with," Feyre teased.

"Not much, likely," Nesta drawled, "He's ancient, isn't he? He'd shrivel up the minute you tried to transplant that oversized ego into a human body." I simply stared at Nesta as Cas and Amren howled with laughter. She shrugged lightly as though to say "well I've learned to live with them." I smiled slightly and gave her a slight nod.

Rhys still had me tucked up under his arm. He wasn't acting possessive, like I'd somewhat expected and rather dreaded. Instead, he seemed to take a simple delight in touching me. He would absentmindedly rub my shoulder, or dance his fingers up and down my arms. He occasionally drew his free hand through my hair or laced his fingers in mine.

 _This is my way of being possessive, Feyre darling._

 _This isn't possessive Rhys, this is showing someone you love them._

Slowly, I began to talk less and watch more, exhausted from the events of the day. Of the past few months really. I began to doze off in Rhys's lap, slowly losing the tension from my shoulders that had been there since Hybern.

The next thing I knew, Rhys had me cradled in his arms gently and I was being carried to his room. I woke up slightly when he tucked me into the bed, and when he got in on his side I cuddled up next to him.

That night, in Rhys's arms for the first time in months, I finally was free to cry myself to sleep with him stroking my hair.

And when I woke up the next morning, I was no longer alone or with someone I hated.

I could look over and see the face of the male I loved so much. I could roll over and touch him, I could cuddle up into his side until he wakes up and pulls me tightly to his chest. I could trace the planes and angles of his face, recommitting every part of it to memory. I could stare into those violet eyes that were filled with love, relief, and joy. I could run my fingers through his hair.

My hand cradled Rhys's face.

"It's real," I said, voice cracking, "I'm home. I'm home with you." His heart in his eyes, Rhys slowly placed his strong hand over my small, delicate looking one.

"Yes, darling," he said, his voice slightly scratchy as well, "You're home."


End file.
